During the evening of Jan. 19, 2015, plaintiffs’ decedent Mark Pajas Sr., 56, was arrested by King City police officers. Pajas was cleared by Natividad Medical Center, in Salinas, to be booked into the Monterey County jail. During the intake screening by a Monterey County Sheriff’s Office deputy, Pajas reported that he used three-quarters of a gram of heroin daily and that he had used heroin earlier that day. As a result, Pajas was placed in a sobering cell during the booking process at 4:17 a.m. on the morning of Jan. 20, 2015. He was monitored by custody staff and evaluated by the medical staff. In addition, Pajas was given medication to ease his heroin withdrawal, but he vomited the medication into a sink and declined further medication from the medical staff. At 2:12 p.m. on Jan. 20, 2015, two deputies discovered Pajas lying face down on the floor, unresponsive. Pajas was transported to a hospital, where he was pronounced dead. A coroner determined that the cause of death was a coronary arrhythmia due to coronary heart disease. However, a toxicology report showed that, in addition to heroin, Pajas had consumed methamphetamine. The coroner’s report indicated that heroin and methamphetamine use could have contributed to Pajas’ coronary arrhythmia. Pajas’ widow, Rosemary Lopez, acting individually and as the administrator of her husband’s estate, and four adult children, Yvette Pajas, Mark Pajas Jr., Janel Pajas and Xavier Pajas, sued Monterey County, Monterey County Sheriff Steve Bernal, King City, the King City Police Department, King City Police Chief Tony Sollecito, King City police officer Steve Orozco, California Forensic Medical Group and nurse Christina Kaupp. The King City defendants were dismissed from the case, and Bernal was dismissed after being granted a motion for summary judgment. The matter continued against Monterey County, the California Forensic Medical Group and Kaupp. Plaintiffs’ counsel argued that the county and the forensic medical group violated the decedent’s constitutional rights by failing to provide him with the necessary medical treatment by failing to check on him. Counsel contended that custody staff failed to check on the decedent in the sobering cell every 15 minutes, as required by the Monterey County Sheriff’s Office policy concerning inmates housed in a sobering cell. Welfare checks of the decedent were recorded on an assessment report, which showed more than 30 welfare checks between 4:06 a.m. and 1:45 p.m. on Jan. 20, 2015, but there was no welfare check recorded at 2 p.m. Plaintiffs’ counsel contended that the county’s actions constituted a deliberate indifference to the decedent’s serious medical needs and constituted a failure to protect the decedent from harm in violation of the decedent’s civil rights under 42 U.S.C. § 1983 and the Fourteenth Amendment. Counsel also contended that the county deprived the decedent of substantive due process, causing loss of familial relationship, in violation of the decedent’s civil rights under 42 U.S.C. § 1983, and the First and Fourteenth Amendments. Counsel further contended that the county failed to furnish or summon medical care, and was negligent in the supervision, training, hiring and retention of its staff, in violation of state law. In addition, the plaintiffs brought a claim under California’s Bane Act, a state law battery claim, a claim of wrongful death under California Code of Civil Procedure § 377.60, and a state law claim of negligence. The court dismissed the negligent supervision and negligence claims with prejudice. Counsel for the California Forensic Medical Group and Kaupp argued that the decedent was appropriate was checked on while in the sobering cell. The county’s counsel argued that the county met the standards imposed by Title 15 and that the decedent’s cause of death was coronary artery disease and drug abuse., Pajas was determined to have suffered a coronary arrhythmia while in the sobering cell. He was found unconscious, and resuscitation efforts were attempted. He was later transported to Natividad Medical Center, where he was pronounced dead. The coroner’s report indicated that heroin and methamphetamine use, in combination with Pajas’ coronary heart disease, could have contributed to the coronary arrhythmia. Pajas was 56 years old. He was survived by his wife, two adult sons and two adult daughters. Pajas’ family sought recovery of wrongful death damages for the loss of Pajas. The county’s counsel contended that Pajas and his wife were estranged for 17 years at the time of Pajas’ death.